To keep up to date with the latest personnel changes across the seafood industry, SeafoodSource is compiling a regular round-up of hiring announcements and other personnel-related shifts worldwide. If you have an announcement, please send it to [email protected].
- Ólafur Karl Sigurdarson has left his role as executive vice president of Marel Fish and assumed the position of deputy CEO at Icelandic fisheries and aquaculture technology company Kapp.
His departure comes amid a restructuring at Marel and an expansion at Kapp.
Under Sigurdarson’s leadership, Kapp, which specializes in refrigeration services for the fishing and aquaculture industries and produces the OptimICE ice slurry machine, among other products, seeks to expand its reach into Canada and the Western United States.
In a release, Kapp CEO Freyr Fridriksson emphasized that Sigurdarson’s extensive leadership experience in the industry, most recently at Marel, makes him a “strong addition to the company.”
His departure comes as Marel plans to merge its Retail and Food Service (RFS) Solutions and Fish divisions. Jeseper Hjortshoj, an 18-year veteran of Marel, will take over the newly merged units, with Sigurdarson staying on until the end of September to assist in the transition.
On LinkedIn, Sigurdarson expressed his gratitude to the Marel team, stating that he was “excited about the next chapter with the great team at KAPP, supporting their growth plans and strengthening the global operations.”
- Håkon André Berg is the new executive chairman of Icelandic land-based salmon-farming company GeoSalmo.
Berg, who is also a company shareholder, comes to GeoSalmo from Norwegian firm Salmon Evolution, where he will stay on as a board member. He is coming on as GeoSalmo is building a high-tech salmon farm with a 33,000-metric-ton production capacity near Þorlákshöfn, Iceland.
GeoSalmo CEO Jens Þórðarson said in a statement that Berg will draw on his work at Salmon Evolution to bring “strength to our team as we embark on the next exciting phase of our journey.”
Berg said that he was “excited to take a key role in … one of the most ambitious aquaculture projects globally.”
“GeoSalmo’s approach to land-based farming aligns with the values and priorities that I consider fundamental, and I am confident we have all the factors needed to create a success story," he said.
– Trans-Ocean Products, one of the largest surimi processors in the U.S., has promoted Tamara Bronkema and Chris Cameron to senior management positions.
The Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.-based company produces surimi under both brand names and private labels as a U.S. subsidiary of Japan-based Maruha Nichiro.
Bronkema, a 37-year veteran of the company, is now vice president of human resources, while Cameron has been named vice president of operations. Cameron’s leadership in his previous role as supply chain manager, the company said, allowed Trans-Ocean to avoid production delays which have beset industries worldwide.
Trans-Ocean President and CEO Murray Park said in a release that “these promotions are well-deserved" and that the work of Bronkema and Cameron will be “critical to our future success as we continue to expand.”
- Vevey, Switzerland-based food company Nestlé has named Laurent Freixe as CEO.
Freixe has served at Nestlé for over two decades, having formerly managed the firm's Zone Europe, Zone Americas, and Zone Latin America divisions for the brand. A member of the Nestlé executive board for 16 years, Freixe has also been instrumental in strategic and productivity initiatives, as well as committed to talent development through his work with the Nestlé Leadership and Training Programs and Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative, according to the company.
Nestlé Chair Paul Bulcke emphasized Freixe’s “strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience, and expertise,” as well as a “deep understanding of markets and consumers" as reasoning for the appointment.
Freixe replaces Mark Schneider, who is stepping down after eight years with the company, said in a release that he was grateful for the opportunity to “transform Nestlé into a future-proofed, innovative, and sustainable business.”
- Sergey Goryachev has become the new CEO of Russian Crab Company (RCC), taking the helm from Yulia Yurova, who is returning to her previous role as deputy CEO, after serving in the head role for only four months.
Goryachev has a background in agriculture, most recently as the leader of one of Russia's largest agricultural products company Rusagro Group, which produces sugars, cooking oils, and pork, among other products. Before Rusagro, he held the position of executive director of the downstream division at Rusal, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers.
RCC Chair Evgeny Orlov said he “expected that under [Goryachev’s] leadership, the company would strengthen its position in the industry … through the expansion of sales geography and the effective implementation of RCC’s investment program for building a new fleet.”
- Training and skills company Lantra Scotland has assumed host responsibilities for the Women in Scottish Aquaculture (WiSA) network, which supports women in the nation's seafood industry.
Organized by the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), WiSA has grown from a grassroots organization to include almost 400 participants since its founding in 2019.
Lantra Scotland is a training and skills organization for land-based industries and aquaculture operations and runs programs supporting women in agriculture and forestry work.
Lantra Scotland Director Liz Barron-Majerik said taking over the hosting of the WiSA network represented "growth in the diversity of the sectors we work with, [which] is very important to us."
Along with its plan to host WiSA, Lantra named Jillian Couto-Phoenix as its head of aquaculture. Couto-Phoenix is tasked with overseeing WiSA’s transition to Lantra, as well as expanding Lantra’s training offerings in the aquaculture sector. She previously served as head of skills and talent at SAIC.
- Former Skretting CEO Therese Log Bergjord has joined the board of directors at Kverva, the largest shareholding company of SalMar.
News of Log Bergjord’s resignation from Skretting came in April, which occurred at the same time parent company Nutreco's CEO Fulco van Lede also announced his departure.
In a release at the time, van Lede said that Log Bergjord’s leadership had left in place “a strong team and a business well-positioned to remain at the forefront of sustainable aquaculture,” while Log Bergjord expressed her commitment to “continuing to champion sustainable aquaculture” in her next opportunity.
That next opportunity will take place at Kverva, a firm first organized in 1991 as a holding company for salmon producer SalMar, which has since become a publicly traded company. Though Kverva now has a diverse set of holdings, it continues to specialize in the aquaculture sector and remains SalMar’s largest shareholder.
“Growth in the world’s population, economic development, and health focus are all factors likely to make seafood a substantial resource of proteins in the future. Kverva intends to capitalize on this global macro-trend and the enormous future potential in the marine sector," the company said on its website.
